The point was made during the telecast of Sunday’s Red Bulls’ game at FC Dallas that with all the tinkering coach Mike Petke has had to do with the lineup this season, the starting 11 that he put on the field was the best combination of players on the roster.

If that’s true, Red Bulls fans have to ask themselves one question: Is that a team that can win the MLS Cup this year?

Certainly you had to like what you saw in the 1-0 victory, the team’s first on the road this season. The big players proved decisive, role players did their job and the defense was solid as the Red Bulls increased their unbeaten streak to four (3-0-1) and have moved from ninth place in the Eastern Conference to a tie for first place with Sporting Kansas City and the New England Revolution, though each have games in hand on the Red Bulls.

While you can’t overlook the fact that FC Dallas was playing without four key players who were either injured or suspended, or that the Red Bulls received an enormous break when FC Dallas midfielder Je-Vaughn Watson was issued a red card just 10 minutes into the match, the Red Bulls managed to grind out a victory in 91-degree heat and are looking more and more like the team that won the Supporters’ Shield a year ago.

While designated players Thierry Henry and Tim Cahill get most of the attention, the team’s strength starts at the back with Luis Robles, who has proven over the past year and a half that he is Major League Soccer’s best goalkeeper.

Robles came into the match with a league-high 38 saves, and while he only made three against FC Dallas, one turned the game around.

Robles has shown a knack for knowing which way players will take penalty kicks. He has guessed correctly in all five penalty kicks the Red Bulls have given up this season, and although Robles had not saved any, some were inches out of his reach or even under his arm because he dove too far.

But on Sunday he read Blas Perez perfectly. The Panama striker did not take the kick well, shooting waist-high toward the left side of the net, but Robles dove to his right and deflected the ball over the crossbar in the 59th minute to keep the game scoreless.

And then there is Henry, who has proven to be one of the finest designated players in league history. He was not at his best on Sunday. Maybe it was the heat, which can drain any player’s legs, not just those of a 36-year-old who has been playing professionally for two decades.

Henry was playing in his 100th regular-season game, and while there are some fans who still expect too much from him, considering what he has done for club and country in Europe, his 44 goals and 31 assists rank him among the finest players the league has seen.

Against FC Dallas he showed why. Clearly saving his energy for key moments, there were two in the second half that deserve mention. The first was obvious, but the second shows what a winning player he is.

Red Bulls midfielder Dax McCarty had the ball at midfield and saw Henry make a run behind FC Dallas defender Walker Zimmerman, a 20-year-old making his first start of the year. Henry ran onto the pass as he fought off Zimmerman and shielded the ball from him as he turned up field.

Henry broke into the box and had a clear shot — something a world-class goal scorer never passes up — yet he chose to pass the ball to his left, where Bradley Wright-Phillips was cutting into the box. FC Dallas defender Matt Hedges was between Henry and Wright-Phillips, but Henry’s pass was behind him, and as Hedges turned his body to get back into the play, Wright-Phillips used him as a screen to drive the ball into the right side of the net with 19 minutes to play for his fifth goal in the past three games.

Just as significant for Henry was a play he made in the 85th minute. FC Dallas had played exceptionally well with 10 men and were pressing again when Henry tracked back 40 yards to break up a pass 10 yards outside the Red Bulls box. It was not a play that drew notice, but goes to show his commitment, even as a forward, to help out on defense and do anything to win.

The Red Bulls return home Saturday to play the last-place Chicago Fire (0-2-6), who haven’t been the same club since losing to the Red Bulls, 5-2, in the final game of the 2013 season at Red Bull Arena, a result that clinched the Supporters’ Shield for the Red Bulls and knocked the Fire out of the playoffs.

The Red Bulls are 9-0-4 in their past 13 games at Red Bull Arena, and if they are finally starting to build a home-field advantage, and if they are coming together on the road, this could be a team that will be in the hunt for silverware in a number of competitions this season.

ETC

Just when you thought Juan Agudelo faded from memory, the former Red Bulls forward collected a goal and an assist in the final game of his loan to Utrecht, a 2-1 victory over Vitesse on the final day of the Dutch season. The 21-year-old Agudelo scored three goals in 14 league games during his loan from Stoke. ... U.S. forward Terrence Boyd scored his 14th goal to help Rapid Vienna clinch second place in the Austrian Bundesliga with a 2-0 win over Wacker Innsbruck. ... The United States will host a special 16-nation edition of the Copa America in 2016 to mark the tournament’s centennial. The June 3-26 competition will include all 10 teams from South America as well as six teams from CONCACAF, including the United States and Mexico. Games will be held throughout the country, including MetLife Stadium. ... The U.S. women’s team plays Canada in a friendly Thursday night in Winnipeg, and will play France June 14 in Tampa, Fla., and June 19 in East Hartford, Conn. ... It will be Pachuca vs. Santos Laguna and Toluca vs. Leon in the Mexican league playoff semifinals. The first legs are set for tomorrow and Thursday, with the second legs Saturday and Sunday. ... Napoli defeated Fiorentina, 3-1, to win the Italian Cup in a game that marked the return of Fiorentina forward Giuseppe Rossi, who played the final 18 minutes in his first action since January following yet another knee injury. ... With the European Champions League final still to be played, Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo has a record 16 goals in the tournament this season. If Real Madrid wins, coach Carlo Ancelotti will tie former Liverpool coach Bob Paisley’s record of three European Cup victories. ... With a goal in Sunday’s 2-2 tie with Valencia, Ronaldo has collected 50 goals in all competitions four years in a row. ... Last week’s 4-0 thrashing of Bayern Munich by Real Madrid in the second leg of the semifinals was Bayern’s worst home defeat in the competition and it equaled its biggest loss ever — 4-0 at Barcelona in 2009. Real Madrid had never won in Munich in 10 previous matches, going 0-9-1. ... Brazil is expected to announce its World Cup squad tomorrow. ... The Portland Timbers, with Gaston Fernandez scoring 34 seconds in, won their first game of the season, 3-2 over D.C. United. The Timbers (1-3-5) won the Western Conference last season with a 14-5-15 record. ... The Philadelphia Union is winless in eight games (0-4-4) following its 2-1 loss to the Seattle Sounders Saturday night. That ties a club record first set in 2011 and matched in 2012. ... Hermann Trophy winner Patrick Mullins scored his first career MLS goal in Saturday’s 2-1 win over Toronto FC. ... The Vancouver Whitecaps and forward Kenny Miller agreed to terminate his contract. ... Linden’s Steven Ortiz and North Bergen’s Ronald Yepes were among six players selected as Red Bulls’ finalists to the Sueño MLS 2014, a search for the best undiscovered soccer talent in the country. ... Sky Blue FC, on a goal by Monica Ocampo in the 14th minute, won its first game of the year, 1-0, over the Boston Breakers Saturday night at Yurcak Field. Sky Blue is home again tomorrow night against the Chicago Red Stars. ... Sunday is the final day of the English Premier League season and all 10 games will be televised live at 10 a.m. in the United States. ... Manchester United forward Wayne Rooney will miss today’s game against Hull because of a groin injury. ... A week after being named the English Professional Footballers’ Association Player of the Year, Liverpool forward Luis Suarez won the same honor from the Football Writers’ Association. Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard was second and Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure third. Yesterday, Suarez scored a goal in Liverpool’s 3-3 tie with Crystal Palace to tie the EPL record of 31 goals in a 38-game season set by Blackburn’s Alan Shearer in 1995-96 and matched by Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo in 2007-08. The overall record of 34 goals was set in a 42-game season and is shared by Newcastle’s Andy Cole (1993-94) and Shearer (1994-95). ... Tottenham winger Andros Townsend will miss the World Cup for England after damaging ligaments in his left ankle. Townsend, 22, will be out 10 weeks. ... Cardiff was relegated to the League Championship after a year in the top flight, while Fulham dropped down for the first time in 13 years. ... Maybe age is finally catching up to Barcelona. The club dropped just four points through the first 18 Spanish league games, but dropped 18 points in the last 18 rounds. Not a good sign for tired players moving on to the World Cup. ... Palermo, unbeaten in 18 games, earned promotion to Serie A following a one-year absence after beating Novara, 1-0, Saturday to win the Serie B title. ... The Italian Players’ Association is pushing to reduce Serie A from 20 teams to 18. The league expanded from 18 to 20 in 2003-04. ... Guingamp, on goals by defender Jonathan Martins Pereira and forward Mustapha Yatabare, won the French Cup with a 2-0 victory over Rennes. Guingamp last won the Cup five years ago when it was in the second division. Both teams are fighting to avoid relegation and hope to avoid the fate of Strasbourg in 2001 and Lorient in 2002, which were relegated the same year they lifted the French Cup. ... PSG teammates Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Thiago Motta and Thiago Silva, along with Monaco’s James Rodriguez, are in the running for the French league’s Player of the Year. The winner will be announced Sunday. ... PSG can clinch the French league title with a victory tomorrow over Rennes. A victory would give PSG 86 points and set the league record for most points in a season. Lyon had 84 points in 2005-06. ... Marseille said it has reached an agreement to sign Argentine coach Marcelo Bielsa to a two-year contract. ... Nuremberg, in next-to-last place in the Bundesliga with one game to play, is hoping to avoid a record eighth relegation. ... Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer extended his contract with Bayern Munich through June, 2019. ... Athletic Bilbao locked up Spain’s fourth Champions League spot for next season, a tough task considering everyone has to contend with Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid and Barcelona. ... The Confederation of African Football banned Gambia from all African competitions for two years after fielding five overage players in a qualifier for Africa’s Under-20 championship. ... Brisbane captured its third Australian league title in four years, coming from behind to beat the Western Sydney Wanderers, 2-1, in extra time in Sunday’s grand final. Brazilian striker Henrique scored the winner six minutes into the second period of extra time. ... Midfielder Brett Holman, playing for Al Nasr in the United Arab Emirates, announced his international retirement just two weeks before Australia coach Ange Postecoglou is due to announce his World Cup squad. Holman, 30, earned 63 caps, scored two goals in the 2010 World Cup and played an important role in Australia’s qualifying campaign for this World Cup. ... The Newcastle Jets appointed former Adelaide United assistant Phil Stubbins head coach for the next two seasons.